Abstract: Under the wave of digitization, an increasing number of enterprises are integrating digital technologies into their daily operations, including procurement, production, and sales. Digital transformation enables businesses to promptly and accurately collect and process information generated at various stages, reshaping management thinking and models, and driving industrial upgrading and high-quality economic development.
Digital transformation promotes the deep integration of digital technology and production development, attracting the widespread attention of academia. The changes brought about by digital technology in various aspects of business, such as production management, marketing management, operational environments, and decision-making, have become a hot topic of discussion. For instance, sensors and wireless technology capture data in production processes, guiding production through smart devices. 3D printing enhances product design capabilities, shortening the time from design to production, and thereby increasing efficiency. Machine learning makes a predictive analysis and effective decision-making for businesses. The Internet of Things can transform traditional production and business processes, leading to organizational restructuring and improved operational efficiency. Big data technology uses distributed architecture for mining and processing massive data. The information effect is the most direct impact of digital transformation on businesses, providing digital support for their operational decision-making and information disclosure. In the increasingly complex modern economy, the information governance effect of digital transformation is particularly important.
Digital transformation not only reshapes production and business processes but also has a positive impact on information disclosure within enterprises. It breaks down information silos and enhances the internal information acquisition capabilities. In complex businesses, the information acquisition effect of digital transformation is even more prominent. Additionally, digital transformation helps businesses efficiently handle vast, non-standard, and unstructured data, enabling precise data processing and improving internal information utilization and processing efficiency. In summary, digital transformation can have an information governance effect, enhancing information collection and processing capabilities, and ultimately improving the quality of management’s performance forecasts. Currently, no literature has provided a definitive answer to whether digital transformation can realize its information governance effect, and this requires further investigation.
In light of this, this study examines manufacturing companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2013 to 2020. It measures the degree of digital transformation using text analysis techniques and investigates the information governance effect of digital transformation from the perspective of management’s performance forecasts. The research reveals that digital transformation has a significant information governance effect and can enhance the quality of performance forecasts. Specifically, companies with higher degrees of digital transformation have more accurate and timely performance forecasts. These conclusions remain robust after a series of robustness tests. Furthermore, the impact of digital transformation on the quality of performance forecasts is more pronounced for companies with higher business complexity, especially those with numerous subsidiaries and diversified operations. Digital transformation also increases the willingness and quality of voluntary performance forecasts but does not significantly affect the quality of mandatory performance forecasts. Lastly, the information governance effect of digitization is particularly prominent in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key words: digital transformation, the quality of corporate information disclosure, management earnings forecast, information governance effects, business complexity

摘要： 本文构建了企业数字化转型词典,通过文本分析识别了企业数字化转型的程度,从管理层业绩预告的角度考察数字化转型给企业带来的信息治理效应。研究发现:企业数字化转型具有显著的信息治理效应,数字化转型可以提高业绩预告精准性和及时性;补充分析结果表明,数字化转型带来的信息治理效应在子公司较多和业务多元化程度较高的企业中更加显著;数字化转型可以提高企业自愿性业绩预告的意愿和质量,而对强制性业绩预告并不会产生显著的影响;数字化转型对企业信息披露质量的改善在受新冠疫情影响较严重的企业中作用更为突出。本文揭示了企业数字化转型在信息披露中的治理作用,为政府和企业进一步推进企业数字化变革提供了经验证据和决策参考。

关键词: 数字化转型, 信息披露质量, 管理层业绩预告, 信息治理效应, 业务复杂度